FLYCATCHERS 247 



thin, and the black of the wings contrasts well with the bright sal- 

 mon sides. He sits quietly like any every-day bird, giving only an 

 occasional bee-bird like note, till suddenly up he darts into the air, 

 and with delighted wonder you watch his odd figure and odder 

 gyrations in the sky. 



One of his favorite performances is to fly up and, with rattling 

 wings, execute an aerial seesaw, a line of sharp-angled VWWVV's, 

 helping himself at the short turns by rapidly opening and shutting 

 his long white scissors. As he goes up and down he utters all the 

 while a penetrating scream, ka-quee -ka-quee -ka-quee -ka-quee -ka- 

 quee . the emphasis being given each time at the top of the ascending 

 line. 



Frequently when he is passing along with the even flight of a 

 sober-minded crow and you are quietly admiring the salmon lining 

 of his wings, he shoots rattling into the air, and as you stare 

 after him, drops back as suddenly as he rose. He does this appar- 

 ently because the spirit moves him, as a boy slings a stone at the 

 sky, but fervor is added by the appearance of a rival or an enemy, 

 for he is much like a Tyrannus in his masterful way of controlling 

 his landscape. He will attack caracaras and white-necked ravens, 

 lighting on their backs and giving them vicious blows while scream- 

 ing in their ears. 



GENUS TYRANNUS. 



General Characters. Adults with a bright-colored concealed crown 

 patch ; feet small and weak ; tarsus not longer than middle toe with 

 claw ; bill notched and hooked, broad at base, its width at nostrils much 

 more than half the distance from nostril to tip ; adults with outer quills 

 abruptly narrowed at tip. 



KEY TO ADULTS. 



1. Under parts white tyrannus, p. 247. 



1'. Under parts yellow. 

 2. Tail even. 



3. Primaries with gradually narrowed tips . . verticalis, p. 248. 



3'. Primaries with abruptly narrowed tips . . vociferans, p. 249. 



2'. Tail decidedly emarginate couchii, p. 248. 



444. Tyrannus tyrannus (Linn.}. KINGBIRD. 



Adults. Under parts and band on end of tail pure white ; head and tail 

 black ; rest of upper parts slate gray ; middle of crown with a concealed 

 patch of orange red. Young : crown patch wanting and colors duller, wing 

 and tail coverts edged with brownish, tail band and chest tinged with 

 brownish. Length: 8-9, wing 4.45-4.75, tail 3.40-3.75, bill from nostril 

 .50-. 57. 



Distribution. Breeds in Transition and Sonoran zones of temperate 

 North America from the British Provinces chiefly east of the Rocky 

 Mountains to the southern border of the United States. Not recorded 

 from Arizona. Migrates to middle and South America. 



